Michelle Obama enjoys her day out at White House State banquet

WASHINGTON - It was U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama’s day out at various social events at the White House on Tuesday, and she did not disappoint.

You could say that she was on a roll, changing her outfits thrice to make the Obama administration’s first State welcome for a head of state or government memorable both for herself and hubby - President Barack Obama, and for the chief guests - Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur.

All of her outfits were accessorised perfectly, and was she was very genial and very polite to boot. In contrast, Mrs. Gursharan Kaur was very quiet, her style, pretty much like her husband, the Indian Prime Minister.

Mrs. Obama chose to wear a gleaming silver-sequined, flesh-coloured gown appropriately designed by Indian-born, U.S.-based designer Naeem Khan for Tuesday night’s state dinner. She tended to her hostess duties in a strapless silhouette with the beads forming an abstract floral pattern that was custom-made by Khan.

She also wore a matching wrap, a stack of bangle bracelets on her wrist and dangling earrings.

The menu prepared and supervised by Chef Marcus Samuelsson, an award-winning African-American chef from the New York restaurant Aquavit, was high on veggies and low on meat, apparently in deference to the vegetarians Indian Prime Minister and his wife and to the fact that both are light eaters.

The china used at the dinner was exquisite and included Eisenhower Porcelain service plates of 1955, Clinton era service plates that were commissioned to commemorate 200th anniversary of the building of the White House (2000)

George W Bush State China Service dinner plates (2008-09) as also desert plates from the same period.

Laura Bush had shown these to Mrs Obama when she came in. It was probably the best-preserved china as it was used only once. The others appeared to be chipped.

Previous state dinners held at the White House in honour of India include the following:

. George and Laura Bush in 2005

. William and Hillary Clinton 2000

. Ronald and Nancy Reagan 1985 and 1982

. Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson in 1966

. John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy 1963

Mrs. Obama’s choice of dress seemed very appropriate for the occasion.

Earlier in the day, she wore a skirt designed by Indian-American designer Rachel Roy. It was a stunning knee-length outfit. It was beige silk with stars on the sweater, very high on bling but it worked like magic.

She had a bracelet of pearls that were very large. She also wore diamond solitaires in her ears, and small heels.

She spoke endearingly to her girls, who were sitting patiently, silently listening to her about the significance of the banquet.

White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers wore a floor-length cream colour number designed by Comme Des Garcons. The identification of the designer was done by Washington Post reporter Robin Givhan as soon as Rogers walked past the cameras set up near the entrance, the Chicago Sun Times reports.

The Huffington Post quoted Rogers as saying: “We are very excited…everything looks great.”

According to the paper, Robin “show off” Givhan, asked what everyone wanted to ask: “Are you wearing Comme Des Garcons?” and Rogers replied “Of course.”

Rogers’ multi-layered dress was nude in color, had pearls in between two layers of fabric…

Vice-President Joe Biden’s missus - Dr. Jill Biden - wore a beaded gown designed by Reem Acra.

Naeem Khan told CNN’s Larry King that his goals were to dress the U.S. First Lady in something “Indian, chic, simple but very glamorous.”

Khan is no stranger to helping women make a grand entrance.

According to an Associated Press report, Khan has become a fixture on the Hollywood red-carpet circuit, dressing star attractions like Beyonce, Carrie Underwood, Katherine Heigl and even Queen Noor of Jordan.

Michelle Obama’s gown reportedly took three weeks to make at the designer’s family workshop in India, with 40 people working on it, Khan said.

President Barack Obama wore classic-style tuxedo, and he also drew praise for his elegant dress sense. By Smita Prakash (ANI)